In 2014, Rebbetzin Wendy Hendler and Rozanne Sack started Koleinu SA, an organisation to support victims of abuse.
Koleinu SA has a helpline manned by trained volunteers, and are an advocacy and educational organisation.
Koleinu was born at a time when Wendy and Rozanne both felt voiceless and scared. They are both victims of sexual abuse by a medical doctor, and endured much trauma and difficulty in trying to bring the perpetrator to justice. Both felt that their experience should be channelled into something meaningful for our community which, at that stage had offered little support for victims of abuse who speak out. Their aim with Koleinu is to give a voice and hope to victims of any form of abuse.
Over seven years, the organisation has grown into one that offers support, referrals, education and advocacy. They have developed a cutting edge prevention of child sexual abuse programme for primary school children, SchoolSafe, and are involved in developing programmes around the prevention of gender-based violence.
They have recently opened a branch of the helpline in Cape Town run by Melanie Uranovsky. Through their work they endeavour to keep supporting victims and their families, and raising awareness about the issue of abuse both within our community and in the broader South African context.
We read a book or watch movie or listen to a podcast or attend a meeting about abuse, but the abuse always seems to be about somebody else. Or is it?
Perhaps it is happening to somebody you know right now.
Sadly, abuse of any kind — financial, mental, physical, emotional, social or sexual — is happening to at least one person we know, whether they are telling us or not. Most of the time, the abuse is from somebody the person knows.
Abuse doesn’t discriminate between age, skin colour, religion or class. If you think you know or recognise that somebody is experiencing abuse, please talk to them and encourage them to come forward and speak to us at Koleinu. We will listen and channel them in the the right direction, nurture them and follow through with their progress, all in the strictest of confidence.
Melanie Uranovsky
If you or anybody you know is a victim of abuse and needs support, please contact the Koleinu Helpline:
Cape Town: 074 180 5687 24-hour line except over Shabbat
Johannesburg: (011) 264 0341 Sun – Thurs: 9am – 10pm Fri: 9am – 3pm
• Published in the PDF edition of the February 2022 issue – Click here to get it.
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